What should I put next on the list for rebuilding credit? Details in post

[Anonymous]

A couple years ago my wife and I decided to buy a house so we had some credit rebuilding that needed to be done. In the past two years I've opened a bunch of credit cards, had a mortgage, and financed two cars and a motorcycle. Income $90000 per year My current situation is as follows:

Fico 8 - EQ675 TU698 EX681

Amazon store card opened 1/18 $1500 with $1100 balance on a no interest purchase

BEST BUY Visa, cbna 3/18 $2000 $1000 balance with $500 owed on no interest purchase and $500 being transferred to discover

KOHLS store card 6/16 $2700 $500 balance being transferred to Discover

USAA classic platinum 1/17 $1500 $0

EXXON card 1/18  $300 $0

CAPITAL ONE platinum 11/16 $500 $0

Walmart synchrony 3/17 $1200 $0

Bankamericard 7/16 $500 limit $0

Chase freedom unlimited 2/17 $3000 $0

WELLS FARGO BANK home improvement charge account 4/17 $3500 $0

American Express blue cash preferred 2/17 $500 $0

Discover opened 2 weeks ago $8500 and nearly maxed out from transferring balances from motorcycle loan and two credit cards 

Mortgage 1/17 $65000 balance 4%

USAA Auto loan 1/17 $24,500 balance 5% 

USAA Auto loan 1/17  $13,000 10.5%

Harley Davidson loan $5600 still on credit but transferring balance to Discover card for no interest perk (paying off in October), will probably come off report next month. 

All other credit cards and accounts are 0 balance.

I made a mistake July of last year with an annual fee that made me miss a payment on the Bankamericard and they cut my limit from $2000 and I also missed one payment on Kohl's the same month by just being stupid. 

So where should I go from here? I'd like to do any new apps before Discover hits my report because that's going to be 6 months before it's paid back down to 0. 

[Adkins]

I would go to the garden and wait until your balance transfer from discover is paid off before thinking about another card. I'd work on SP CLIs on the cards that allow this in the meantime. I wouldn't open a card just to open a card, I need a specific reason for that card. You have quite a few cards already. Why do you want to open more? 

[Anonymous]

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@Adkins wrote:

I would go to the garden and wait until your balance transfer from discover is paid off before thinking about another card. I'd work on SP CLIs on the cards that allow this in the meantime. I wouldn't open a card just to open a card, I need a specific reason for that card. You have quite a few cards already. Why do you want to open more? 

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Good point. I would focus on paying down balances first to free up cash flow. Three car payments, mortgage, and revolving consumer debt is a lot to manage.  BTW I wish I only had 65k left on my mortgage.

[NRB525]

There is an AF on the BofA card? Is it secured?

A Blue Cash Preferred with AF and $500 limit?

Any other cards that are secured, or have AF?

The CFU looks to me like the best choice for a daily driver. Set it to autopay in full, and build up a cash balance in your checking account so you always have that anticipated future autopay amount ready to be drawn. 

The AMEX should be used regularly and you should check for SP CLI. You already paid this AF, so that is a sunk cost, leave it as is for now. It will be difficult to justify the AF on the earnings rate when the AF comes due, but in the rest of this year, take advantage of the enhanced earning rate, you already paid for that benefit. Next Feb, when the AF comes up, ask to downgrade to the no-AF version and get that AF removed at that time. You have 30 days after the AF posts to ask for it to be removed. 

Call Cap One to see if they have a PC to QuickSilver available. If this is secured, can they un-secure it? Is there an AF? This one should also be used regularly to build your CapOne history. 

I also recommend not applying for any other cards just to apply. Let your accounts age, keep up with autopayments, and let your scores rise a bit. 

[Anonymous]

The Bankamericard and Amex have annual fees. None of my others do. All are unsecured.

[AverageJoesCredit]

Slow the roll and take a stroll

[digitek]

Yeah I think you should probably slow down. This all has the potential to bite you in the ass. You've borrowed a **bleep** ton of money recently, and still owe most of it back.

[HeavenOhio]

Don't app now. With the exception of Discover, you're getting awfully low limits for a 90k income. I'd wait until your 0% interest has run its course and for your newest accounts to be at least six months old. A year old would be better. Waiting will also add the benefit of putting your late payments further in the past.

What you can do in the meantime is check into soft-pull CLIs (credit limit increases). Don't waste hard pulls on CLI requests until your accounts have aged and your card balances have been reduced.

On the positive side, I think Discover likes your profile the way it is. And they're going to like the BTs as long as you put a significant dent in the balances. I'd start requesting CLIs on that card once it's 60 days old.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the advice. I requested a change to the Quicksilver card and it was approved with no annual fee. I think at this time everyone is right. No more hard pulls for at least 12 months. It's going to take a lot of willpower because doing apps is addicting. Time to simmer.